The Macao government has accused the United States of “brutal interference in the internal affairs” of the territory.
The government said in a strongly-worded English-language statement early today that the 2020 Annual Report by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) of the 116th Congress of the US “is ignoring facts.”
The statement released by the Macao Government Information Bureau (GCS) says that “the US fails in terms of its own governance, yet attempts brutal interference in the internal affairs of Macau.
“The practice of such double standards is ludicrous and repulsive.”
According to the statement, the government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) “expresses its strong opposition” to the report’s claims.
The statement underlined that since its return to the motherland 21 years ago, the MSAR “has achieved remarkable success in a variety areas, including its response to the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic,” adding that “such achievements are evidence of the successful implementation of the principle of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ with Macao’s own characteristics, a principle that has gained wide recognition and respect within the international community.”
In the 2020 document, the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China focuses on three points: democracy, freedom of the press and human trafficking.
The report indicates that “no progress has been made on universal suffrage in the past year.”
The document also makes reference to the operation that the police set up to counter a demonstration in support of the Hong Kong protests in August 2019, on a night “which resulted in seven arrests”.
The US Congressional Commission also mentions the ban on entry into Macao of five journalists and six activists in the weeks leading up to President Xi Jinping’s inspection visit in December 2019, “with local authorities invoking the internal security law.”
The report also notes the request of the Macau Portuguese and English Press Association for the Macao Government to respect freedom of the press.
Reference is also made in this document to the fact that the Institute for Municipal Affairs has withdrawn authorization to hold a photographic exhibition to mark yet another Tiananmen anniversary.
Another issue addressed in this report is human trafficking and sexual exploitation of women. The US Congressional Commission American notes that few cases end up in court.
(MPD/GCS/USC/Macao News
Photo@ Macaulink
